Opal
Whiteley Memorial & Mural - Main St.

THE
LEGEND OF OPAL WHITELEY

Born
1897, Buried 1948, Died 1992

By
Stephen H. Williamson

Opal
Whiteley. Does her name ring a bell? In the early days of this century,
Opal was the most popular teenager in Oregon. It was thought she might
become the greatest scientist, writer and teacher that Oregon had ever
produced. Instead, in 1921, she became biggest Oregon literature's biggest
embarrassment - and mystery.

By
age five, Opal was keeping a diary. Regarded as a child genius, by age
13 she was giving talks on wildlife and geology, mixing natural science
with religion. Since childhood she had heard "voices" from plants,
animals and God. A brilliant student, she so amazed the University of
Oregon with her knowledge of natural history, that she was admitted without
a high school diploma!

At
the age of 21, Opal traveled to Boston with her book, The Fairyland Around
Us, one of the most remarkable blends of science and faith ever written.
The Atlantic Monthly turned that book down, but did publish her childhood
diary. It quickly became a worldwide best seller. Presidents and Kings
read it. Mothers named their babies after her. Opal was an international
star - at least outside Oregon!

Opal's
diary describes the life of a lonely child from logging camps in the Cascade
Mountains. Below is her description of the seasons changes from fall to
winter, written when she was only seven . . .

"Now
comes the days of brown leaves. They fall from the trees. They flutter
on the ground. When the leaves flutter, they are saying little things.
I hear them tell of their borning days when they did come into the world
as leaves. Today they told me how they were a part of the earth and air
before their tree borning days. And now, they are going back. In gray
days of winter they go back to the earth. But they do not die."

Opal
had shown signs of both child abuse and schizophrenia as a young girl.
But, when her diary was published, she began to say that she was a lost
princess from France! She told people that she was not really a Whiteley,
but had only been raised by them. She also told about abuse she had suffered
growing up, something that was not talked about in 1920. The media uproar
between supporters who believed Opal and those who did not, finally drove
her family to change their name and move away from Cottage Grove. Disgraced,
Opal went to Europe to prove her story. She never returned.

In
her later years Opal worked as a writer for several magazines. She even
traveled to India as a Maharajah's guest! However, in 1948 she was found
nearly starving in her London apartment. She was surrounded by thousands
of books on every subject - especially European history. Since childhood
Opal had always spent her money on books rather than food. Then, something
tragic happened ...

Opal
was committed to Napsbury Mental Hospital in England. She died there in
1992 at the age of 95. The gifted child genius from Oregon's wilderness
spent nearly fifty years buried in a tiny cell on a crowded asylum ward.
In the 1950's she was given a lobotomy. Opal never wrote another book.
Her brilliant mind rotted away like the tree stumps her logger father
had cut down so long ago. Only 10 people attended Opal's funeral. No memorial
was held in Oregon.

Opal
Whiteley's fate is one of the saddest - but also heroic in literature.
She was a victim of abuse, mental illness, and society's attempts to "cure"
her. For half a century the asylum tried to make her give up her ideas
and use the name of Whiteley. She did not. In fact, after about 25 years
the hospital gave up and began to call her the "Princess". Opal
finally became what she believed she was - a Princess - even if imprisoned.
Her life could be so much better today! Science has learned much about
the brain in the past 50 years.

Fortunately,
Opal did live long enough to see her book reprinted by Benjamin Hoff,
best-selling author of the Tao of Pooh. Hoff spent years researching this
mysterious and misunderstood woman. The Singing Creek Where the Willows
Grow, the Mystical Nature Diary of Opal Whiteley is now in paperback from
Penguin Books. A poetry version of her diary and a children's storybook,
both by Jane Boulton, are also available. There is an Opal classic for
all ages!

Opal
Whiteley is only now being included in lists of women writers. For nearly
75 years her beautiful writings about nature and children gathered dust,
almost forgotten. However, that is now changing. The town of Cottage Grove
has hosted several tourist events, and the library even has a statue of
her. A high school scholarship has been created and area libraries now
have her book. Random House recommends her diary for school students along
with the Diary of Anne Frank! Opal has several web pages on the Internet.
The University of Oregon has put her entire diary on line for readers
and researchers. Opal Whiteley has made a literary comeback.

To
this day there is controversy - "What Happened to Opal?" Different
people see her Differently - like the Opal Gemstone.

Was
Opal a Mystic or was she Mad? Was she a Fraud or a real Princess? Those
Questions - and Others Remain Unanswered.

Back
in 1920 folks did not know much about mental
health issues. Most people saw her as a liar and a fraud, not as a woman,
perhaps ill but also very gifted. Maybe it's time people learned the truth
about her. Perhaps Opal can finally come home.